Ode to Carlaya

Carlaya might just be the most mature 7 year old I know! Since getting her own alarm, she gets herself up and ready all by herself. Carlaya does a wonderful job of picking out her own outfits and even doing her hair. This was a few months ago, but it was a "new" style for Carlaya and she was extra proud of herself! ;)

Carlaya then gets out the cereal and milk to fix her own breakfast and most days even fixed breakfast for Noah & Jose. She is a very very helpful big sister! During my March madness month ;) Carlaya was exceptionally helpful with the boys and Mya. If I was hurting bad in the mornings and not wanting to get up right away, she'd even go get Mya out of her crib and keep her entertained while feeding the boys breakfast ALL while getting herself totally ready for school! She loved to do it and felt like such a big kid doing it all, never complaining. I tried not to take advantage, because it was extra nice with her help, specially during March!

Carlaya is also very responsible! She walks in from school everyday, gives Mya a few minutes of attention (1st thing!), says hello to me, grabs a quick snack and heads to her room to get her homework done. She has only asked for help with homework maybe 3 times- ALL YEAR! Such a smartie pants. :) As soon as her homework is done, she pops in her ipod and jams to some tunes while drawing or working on an art project. Although I love how independent she is, I do hate how little we see her anymore. She could sit at her desk for hours!

Lastly, Carlaya is the best big sister in the world. She is loving to both her siblings. On this particular night, I was heading out to Bunco (the ONE thing I get to do each month) but Jonathan was working a double shift and heading to bed right away. He was going to just put the kids in bed early, but I knew Mya wouldn't go to sleep and would just cry. So we promised Carlaya she could stay up and watch cartoons if she'd feed Mya her bottle at 7:30 and get her to bed. I know, that's a lot to ask of a 7 year old, but Carlaya is amazing and can totally handle it!

Jonathan dozed right away on the couch and apparently, Carlaya fed Mya her bottle 45 minutes later and got her dressed for bed. But when Mya was fussy, Carlaya knew she wouldn't want to be put in her crib. So Carlaya just laid Mya on the couch next to her until Mya gave up and fell asleep.

I walked in around 9:30 to the Disney channel and these sweetie pies all nestled up on the couch fast asleep! When I woke Carlaya up to go upstairs, she told me Mya was "pretty good, just fussy cause she was tired". Carlaya was worried Mya would roll of the couch while she was sleeping so that's why she held her hand tight! Aaaah! LOVE MY GIRLS!